


A Cure for Insomnia

by rikkafish



Category: No. 6 (Anime & Manga), No. 6 - All Media Types, No. 6 - Asano Atsuko
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-21
Updated: 2014-03-21
Packaged: 2018-01-16 12:37:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1347715
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rikkafish/pseuds/rikkafish
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nezumi can't sleep.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Cure for Insomnia

**Author's Note:**

> this is my first no. 6 fanfic and i'm nervous because this is a new fandom for me haaa

Nezumi has never had trouble falling asleep.

Some nights, sleep takes longer to reach him than others. Those nights, he reads a little longer than normal, never more than an hour, until he's too tired to keep his eyes open. Then he closes the book and his eyes and he's out for the rest of the night.

He's never been unable to sleep due to his own thoughts before. It's another thing that's changed in him since Shion started occupying the space next to him in bed.

He hates it.

He hates that he doesn't hate these changes enough to try and fix them.

He wants to sleep. He's tired. No matter how hard he tries, though, he can't keep his eyes closed longer than a few seconds. He stares at the dark ceiling and listens to the rats skitter around the room, a sound that's normally familiar and easy to ignore, but he forces himself to focus on it. He tries to guess which mouse it is. The black one-- Tsukiyo, he corrects himself, and frowns over the fact that he remembers-- is asleep on the pillow next to Shion, so that eliminates him as an option.

Tsukiyo and Hamlet and Cravat. Why does he remember their names? It's not important information. He calls the rats his friends because they help him. He never named them, always referring to an individual mouse by the color of its fur. Now they have names and Nezumi knows them.

More changes he hates and can't regret. He's never really been one to regret things to begin with, because that means attachment to the past, to things that don't matter, but when it comes to Shion...

It scares him how much Shion matters.

It scares him to think that Shion will wake up in the morning, careful not to disturb Nezumi, and go to the Correctional Facility by himself under the impression that he might not get killed immediately and he'll rescue his friend.

Nezumi's frown deepens as thoughts he had been trying to push away flood into his mind again. He tries to focus on the sound of the rats again, but they've calmed down now and are silent. It's not like they're even neutral territory anyway, leading his traitorous mind back to Shion.

There are other noises he tries to concentrate on. The low hum of the heater, the soft _tick, tick, tick_ of the clock, but he can only manage for a few minutes at most before his focus is on the sound of Shion's slow and even breaths.

He finally gives in, tired of fighting his own thoughts, and rolls onto his side towards the person who shares his bed.

Shion always falls asleep on his back, but when morning rolls around, he's on his side, curled into his bedmate like he really is drawn to him. He's like that now, one arm tucked close to his chest and the other resting on the bed between them. Something about the way he's positioned makes Nezumi feel like he's reaching out to touch him.

Nezumi moves his hand a little closer, barely brushing his pinky against Shion's. Even such a small thing sends a burning jolt through his body, and he pulls his hand back a couple of centimeters.

What was that? He'd touched Shion before in far more intimate ways, from pinning him down with the tip a knife pressed into his neck, to holding him close as they waltzed about the room.

Then his eyes fall on Shion's lips, parted slightly in his sleep, and he thinks, _Oh yeah._

The good bye kiss.

Short and sweet, a nervous but determined press of lips against his own had set his world suddenly off kilter. He's laying awake and worrying, and worse, he's actually letting himself do so, all because of an inexperienced kiss that left him with tears in his eyes.

There's so much that he hadn't expected, though he should always know better when it comes to Shion. He's so unpredictable, every time Nezumi thinks he's got him figured out, Shion throws him off with new things.

He likes to think he's getting better at dealing with, but truthfully, he's always just as caught off guard as he's been since Shion offered to treat his wound while Nezumi pinned him to the wall by his neck. No, even before then. He should have realized he would never be able to predict Shion's actions from the moment he saw him throw his window open and scream into the typhoon.

He is beginning to think that's why he's so worried now.

Inukashi had been right. Nezumi knew that Shion would go after Safu from the moment he read Karan's message, and it's why he hid the note and his actions from him. Last night, Nezumi had tried to get Shion to let him know what he was planning, but instead of asking for his help, he had leaned over and kissed Nezumi good bye.

Briefly, Nezumi wishes it had been just a good night kiss. Just something Shion had decided to add to their nightly routine.

He pretends that he wishes because it would mean Shion isn't planning on heading into certain death in the morning, and not because he wants something so domestic as a good night kiss on a regular basis.

He realizes he's staring when a soft sigh escapes Shion's lips, and his red eyes flutter open just enough to fix Nezumi with a soft, bleary look. An almost worried expression crosses over his face, but it's hard to tell if he's actually woken up, or if he's just being weird in his sleep. Nezumi stills, waiting to see if his eyes close again, but Shion just gives one long blink to interrupt his steady, if hazy, gaze.

"Nezumi," he murmurs.

Hearing his name in Shion's voice, low and thick from sleep, drains the tension and worry from Nezumi's being. He lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He doesn't even question why Shion just saying his name relaxes him so much.

"I'm here," he whispers. He laces his fingers through Shion's loosely, and is rewarded with a smile. Shion's eyes close again.

So do Nezumi's.

In the morning, Shion will wake and try to go to the Correctional Facility, and Nezumi will stop him. Maybe he doesn't know how yet, but he knows he will, and he'll tell him the truth about the note and his plans, and Shion will return with him, safe and alive.

Nezumi falls asleep, and holds onto Shion's hand the whole night.

 

 


End file.
